Category: Mild Romantic Fluff
Fandom: Katekyo Hitman Reborn!
Characters: Tsunayoshi Sawada, Kyoko Sasagawa
Hello, everyone! Here is my story for Day 3 of Katekyo Hitman Reborn! RarePair Week, for the Prompt "Hilarious or Shocking Reveals"!
Tsunayoshi Sawada had shed tears many times in his young (and unfortunately harrowing) young life. He honestly never dreamed he would be blinking away tears while staring admiringly at the rolled-up diploma in his hands. His quivering fingers bent the thin paper when they curled tightly around it. He sunk his front teeth into his bottom lip, but his mind was numb to the dull pain of the action. With a sudden squeal of delight, he crushed the paper in his fist and threw his hands in the air.
"I did it! I graduated high school!" he crowed triumphantly. He puffed out his chest and put his curled fists on his hips to close his eyes and inhale haughtily. "I am not No-Good Tsuna anymore!"
"Yes, you are." Tsunayoshi deflated like a popped balloon to cast a sordid glare at his home tutor. Reborn had grown significantly in the last several years since the Arcoboleno curse had dissipated, now standing at Tsunayoshi's waist. The man trapped in a child's body still dressed way too sharp for his apparent age, donning a neat, pressed suit and his magic chameleon disguised as a hat. He sipped matter-of-factly at his coffee and smirked teasingly at Tsuna. "That paper in your hand doesn't change the fact that you still have a long way to go- and it was my teachings that earned you that diploma, anyway."
"Ahhh, Reborn, you're just as ruthless as ever," Tsunayoshi grumped and pouted at the diploma. I don't care what Reborn says! This is an accomplishment, and I'm gonna treat it like one!
"Tsuna, Tsuna!" Takeshi called as he came trotting up, beaming as always, with his father watching with a pleased smile from a distance. "My old man says he'll treat us to sushi tonight. Everyone is invited!"
"Awesome!"
"I want sushi! I want sushi!" Lambo sprang out from the bushes where he had been presumably playing in the dirt looking for worms, as evidenced by the smears of soil he left on Tsuna's uniform pants as he pawed at them. Tsunayoshi recoiled with a whine, looking dejectedly at the streaks of brown disfiguring his pants. Lambo skipped over to Takeshi and began running circles around him, bleating about sushi. The afroed boy had undergone a similar growth spurt, only slightly shorter than Reborn, but he had not acquired much in the way of maturity. Takeshi laughed good-naturedly and patted Lambo on the head affectionately. Nothing ever dampens Yamamoto's spirits, Tsunayoshi thought warmly.
"Hey, little brat, you're so loud," Hayato griped as he strolled up with his hands in his pockets, and his diploma tucked in a back one. Scowling, he pushed on the back of Lambo's head with the sole of his shoe. Though it couldn't have hurt much, Lambo still took great offense. The little boy plopped down on his behind and began to bawl, screaming about how mean Hayato was to him. "Shut up, you baby! I didn't hurt you!"
"Gokudera! Stop tormenting my dear sweet Lambo!" Tsunayoshi narrowed his eyes at the familiar but very out-of-place voice. Haru came running into the schoolyard to scoop Lambo up and press him into her bosom. Lambo cooed and snuggled into her breasts, clearly with lascivious intent, but Haru nuzzled his fuzzy head endearingly.
"What are you even doing here?!" the bomb expert griped. She shot him a seditious pout and a stony glare.
"I came to see Tsuna graduate, of course! Our school just finished, so I rushed over here. And what do I find? Gokudera is as much a villain as always!"
"Oh, can it, stalker!"
"I am not a stalker! I am a lady in love!"
Tsunayoshi abandoned the duo to their quibbling and pushed himself over his tip-toes, head craned back to scan the many craniums of the students mingling in the courtyard. He did not find who he was looking for, but close enough. He could hear Ryohei screaming about the usual nonsense from a mile away. Wherever Ryohei is, Kyoko must be! he thought and pushed into the crowd.
Tsunayoshi was still small compared to his peers, so squeezing through the many chattering students was a chore. He followed Ryohei's crowing and howling laughter towards the center of the mass of people. With a grunt, he pushed through two very stocky football players before stumbling out into a circle of green grass. Tsking, he smoothed out the creases in his shirt and pants and fixed his fluffy bangs, then inhaled deeply and straightened his back. He fingered the box-shaped lump in his front pocket nervously, eyeing the beautiful young girl chatting amiably with her overzealous boxer brother.
All right, Tsuna! It's now or never!
"Kill him! Kill the Vongola Tenth!"
"Oh, you have got to be kidding me!" Tsunayoshi screeched in anger and torn at his orangey-caramel hair in frustration. As machine-gun fire ripped across the yard, the new graduates erupted into confused screams and scattered like marbles. Thankfully, whoever was attacking only meant to entice the Vongola family into retaliating, so the fire harmlessly rained down into the grass and concrete. Ryohei shoved Kyoko behind him and threw up his fists, while Tsunayoshi begrudgingly trotted over to stand beside him.
"What cowards! Show your faces and fight like a man!" Ryohei yowled and shook his bandage-wrapped fists.
"Can they not?" Tsunayoshi replied with a groan. "Can they just go home?" The yard had thinned in a matter of seconds; all the crowd had spilled out into the streets and run for cover, leaving just the mafia family behind. Takeshi had drawn his katana and Hayato his bombs. Kyoya (who had been lounging around the school though he had graduated before them) was standing across the yard with his tonfa, frowning. Chrome, brandishing her trident, scampered up with Haru clinging to the hem of her shirt. Lambo was sitting in a puddle of his tears, and Reborn was nonchalantly sipping the last dregs of his coffee.
"Reborn! Do you have any idea who these thugs are?" The Vongola Tenth asked his tutor. Reborn pretended not to hear him. "You little-! Gaaaaaah, let's just get this over with," Tsunayoshi huffed and activated his Dying Will Flame, alighting his forehead with the orange glow and materializing his gloves on his hands. "Come out!"
"Yeah, so I can blow you all to Hell!" Hayato sneered. Dozens of armed men in black suits appeared on the rooftops, with a man in a mink overcoat at their head.
"My name is- Hey, what the fu-?" Tsunayoshi didn't give the mafia leader a chance to introduce himself, instead opting to blast his way up to the roof and drop-kick him in the face. As their leader slid across the tiled roof with an imprint of Tsunayoshi's shoe across his forehead, the underlings could only gawk at Tsunayoshi's malice and prowess. Tsunayoshi, his expression blank, flexed his fingers.
"One day. Can't I have one day without some goons crashing in and threatening my life and the lives of my friends? Seriously, did it have to be graduation day?" Tsunayoshi griped as he advanced on the man, who was now crawling away on his hands and knees blubbering. The men around Tsunayoshi howled angrily and trained their weapons on him, but before any of them could fire a single shot, his Guardians jumped into the fray. Within seconds, the attackers' formation crumbled into chaos. Tsunayoshi ignored the mania to stride over to the leader.
"Have mercy!" the leader pleaded as he pressed back against the roof's wall, shaking like a leaf and staring fearfully at Tsunayoshi. Using Leon in the form of a mini-helicopter, Reborn perched himself atop the fence and tutted at the poor excuse of a man.
"How shameful. Did you really think you could take on the Vongola Tenth with such a small force and such little resolve? This is an insult."
Tsunayoshi smothered his Dying Will flame and pouted up at his tutor.
"Rebornnnnn, please don't tell me this was some kind of training exercise or scheme…"
"Of course not. Even I am kind enough to allow you to enjoy your graduation day."
"Y-you asshole! How dare you patronize me!" the mafia boss screamed and lunged at Tsunayoshi. A knife glinted in the sunlight, shooting towards Tsunayoshi's throat, but his hyper-intuition made dodging it an easy task. The young Vongola Tenth side-stepped the attack, leaving the manic man stumbling across the roof. Takeshi dispatched him with a neck-chop to his pressure point, and he crumpled like a doll.
"That was no fun. I wanted a challenge," the swordsman whined and sheathed his katana.
"I would rather not have to deal with stuff like this at all! One day! Just one! That's all I want!" Tsunayoshi argued. Takeshi just laughed animatedly, like he always did, squinting his eyes happily. When he stopped, he glanced down at the ground with a confused grunt.
"Oh? Tsuna, what's that?"
Tsunayoshi knew exactly was Takeshi was referring to and released a high-pitched screech, but before he could retrieve the precious object, Lambo scampered over and swiped it.
"No! Lambo! Give it back!" he wailed and chased the afroed, horned child across the roof. Lambo screamed elatedly, pleased with the chase, and opened the box as he ran in circles with Tsunayoshi in hot pursuit.
"A ring! It's a ring!" Everyone froze, including the girls, who had just mounted the steps.
"Ahhhhhh! Tsuna is finally going to make Haru his mafia wife!" Haru trilled and clasped her hands beside her cheek. Clenching his teeth, Tsunayoshi shot her an incredulous look before lunging for Lambo, who had stopped running in his bewilderment of everyone's reactions. He yelped as Tsunayoshi snatched the ring box and hid it behind his back.
"Lambo's lying! It's not a ring!"
"Uh, yeah it is, Sawada," Kyoya blinked disinterestedly. Tsunayoshi growled at him, infuriated that he was no help to his cause; it was just par for the course, because since when did Kyoya care about anything but his naps and the middle school?
"Who's it for? Who's it for, Tsuna?" Ryohei grinned and bolted over to shake him. Tsunayoshi released startled gasps as his brain rattled in his skull along with all his other bones under the boxer's relentless jarring.
"Gah! Ah! For the love of-! Kyoko! It's for Kyoko!" he choked out. Ryohei ceased shaking him to gawk stupidly at him. Tsunayoshi went pink from the base of his neck to the top of his forehead. He shouldered away from his Sun Guardian, fidgeting with the box incessantly. Kyoko gawked wide-eyed at him from across the roof, mouth agape. Ugh! I had wanted to do this in private, but since when does anything in my life go as planned? he lamented. He cleared his throat before striding over to the girl, trying to seem dignified. It was a meaningless effort, because his knees buckled as soon as he reached her. "K-kyoko," he stammered, then swallowed thickly, hating how quivery his voice was. He tried again, opening the box as he did so to reveal a silver band with a tiny pink opal in the center.
"K-Kyoko, this isn't how I wanted this to go, but…. I've loved you for a long time. You were the motivation to get me through the hardest parts of my life. This is a promise ring," he explained with a glance down at the jewelry. "M-my life is really dangerous now, with the mafia and all, and because of that, I've put your life in danger far too many times… B-but, with this ring, I promise to protect you, always, a-a-and love you w-with everything I h-h-have…" His voice grew high-pitched and trembly at the end, making his blush redden to a tomato color. With shaking lips and shaking hands, he extended the ring to her. "P-please be my girlfriend, Kyoko!"
"Nice delivery," Hayato muttered sarcastically, which made him hunch his shoulders up to his ears. He heard Hayato yelp as his sister slapped him upside the head. Still, he kept his eyes firmly locked on Kyoko's face, watching as she studied the ring curiously. His breath halted as she reached out with slim fingers to pull the ring from the box and admire it in the sunlight. The little pink opal sparkled beautifully, but not nearly as wonderfully as her eyes, Tsunayoshi thought. His heart somersaulted in his ribcage as she smiled broadly and slipped the ring onto her right ring finger.
"I accept."
"Yes!" Tsunayoshi howled and threw his hands in the air triumphantly. "Kyoko said she'll go out with me! This is the best day of my life!"
"Sawada!" Tsunayoshi cringed and hid behind Kyoko as Ryohei barked his name. He hunched down to peer above Kyoko's tiny shoulder, watching fearfully as her elder brother stomped across the roof to cross his arms and glowers down at him.
"R-ryohei, I can explain…"
"No. I've heard enough," he grunted with a stern expression. Tsunayoshi whined and squeezed his eyes shut, bracing himself for one of the boxer's devastating punches. Instead, he felt a hand ruffling his fluffy hair. He cracked an eye open to see Ryohei grinning and even crying a little. "This is so exciting! I know you will take care of my sweet little sister."
"I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself, big brother. You're the one who needs taking care of, getting beat up all the time!"
"Heyyy, Kyoko, that was so mean…"
"So are Tsuna and Kyoko getting married?" Lambo asked Chrome while sucking on his index finger.
"No, no, they are just dating," the illusionist responded. "I think…"
"Hey! This is just one more thing to celebrate over sushi!" Takeshi laughed good-naturedly.
"I'm leaving," Kyoya snorted and whirled on his heel to begin striding for the stairs. He bristled when Takeshi clapped a hand on his shoulder and turned him around.
"Come on, Hibari, don't be such a stick in the mud! Surely you like sushi? My father makes the best." Kyoya glowered before clicking his tongue thoughtfully.
"Do you have tuna sashimi?"
"Of course."
"Fine. But I'm going for the sashimi, not because we're friends."
"Sure, sure."
Tsunayoshi watched fondly as his friends rejoiced on the rooftop, smiling alighting their faces like beacons as always. As Ryohei scampered over to throw his arms around a laughing Takeshi's shoulders, Kyoko looked at him with a sweet smile, making Tsunayoshi's heart stop in his chest.
"You'll keep your promise, won't you, Tsuna?" He blinked, then smiled lovingly at the girl he had adored for the longest time.
"Of course, Kyoko. I'll protect you with my life. I swear it." His eyes snapped wide open when she leaned in to press a small kiss to his cheek, leaving bright pink heat in her wake.
"Good- but don't be in a hurry to throw your life away. I'd miss you so much, Tsuna." Smiling charmingly, she skipped over to Haru and Chrome, wherein they cooed over the pretty pink-gemmed ring. Tsunayoshi slowly raised a hand to his cheek, a smile slowly spreading over his face.
"I'm proud of you, Tsuna," Reborn remarked and patted the back of his thigh. "I never thought you'd do it, really."
"It's all thanks to you, Reborn. You gave me courage."
"No," the mafioso retorted with a sly smirk. "You always had the courage. I just taught you how to find it." Tsunayoshi nodded in agreement.
"Yeah. You sure did, Reborn."